To the Hon. David Laird
Leader of the Treaty Expedition of 1899
This Record is Cordially Inscribed
By His Old Friend the Author
Important events of the year 1857—The Nor'-Wester newspaper—TheDuke of Newcastle and the Hudson's Bay Co.'s Charter—The"Anglo-International Financial Association"—The New Hudson's BayCompany—Offers of American capitalists to purchase the Company'sinterests—Bill providing for purchase of the same introduced intothe United States Congress—Senator Sumner's memorandum to SecretaryFish—Various efforts to arouse public interest in the Hudson's BayTerritories—Former Treaties with the Indians—Motives for treatingwith the Indians of Athabasca—Rush of miners and prospectors intothe district—The Indian Treaty and Half-breed Commission—The RoyalNorth-West Mounted Police Contingent—Special stipulations with theIndians provided for.
Arrival of Treaty and Half-breed Commissions at Edmonton—Departurefor Athabasca Landing—Tawutináow peat beds, etc.—Arrival at theLanding—The gas well there—Boats and trackers—Mr. d'Eschambaultand Pierre Cyr—Non-arrival of trackers—Police contingent volunteersto track a boat to Lesser Slave Lake—Nature of country, burntforests, muskegs, etc.—Tracking; its difficulties—The old Indiantracker Peokus—Forest and river scenery—Placer mining—Absence oflife along the river—Fertile soil.
Lesser Slave River—Its proper name—Migration of the great Algicrace—Bishop Grouard's service in the wilderness—ReturningKlondikers—The rapids; poling—Accident to Peokus—Celebration ofPère Lacombe's fiftieth year of missionary labors—Arrival ofhalf-breed trackers from Lesser Slave Lake—Great hay meadows on theLesser Slave River—The island in Lesser Slave Lake—Trackers'gambling games—Swan River—A dangerous squall—Chief Factor Shaw—Afree-traders' village.
The Treaty point at last—Our camp at Lesser Slave Lake—The Treatyground and assembly—"Civilized" Indians—Keenooshayo and Moostoos—TheTreaty proceedings—The Treaty Commissioners separate—Vermilion andFort Chipewyan treaties—Indian chief asks for a railway—WahpoośkowTreaty—McKenna and Ross set out for Home—Commission issued to J. A.Macrae—Numbers of Indians treated with.
The half-breeds collect at Lesser Slave Lake—They decide upon cash,scrip or nothing—Honesty of the half-breeds and Indians—Easeof parturition amongst their women—Cree family names and theirsignificance—Catherine Bisson—Native traits—The mongrel dog—Gamblingand dancing—The "Red River jig".
Indian lunatics: The Weeghteko—Treatment of lunatics in old UpperCanada—Lesser Slave Lake fisheries—Stock-raising at the lake—Prairiesof the region—The region once a buffalo country—Quality of thesoil—Wheat and roots and vegetables—Unwise to settle in large numbersin the co